Click here for complete groups and tee times for the opening round of 2017 Blue Bay LPGA.
Candie Kung, Michelle Wie, Lee-Anne Pace
9:56 a.m. – 1st Tee
A four-time winner on Tour, Candie Kung looks to return to the winner’s circle this week at the Blue Bay LPGA and pick up her first win on Tour since 2008. Kung nearly broke through in China in 2015 when she finished tied for second. She will play the opening round alongside Michelle Wie, who is coming off a tie for 46th last week in Japan. Wie has had some success at Blue Bay where she finished tied for third in 2014 and picked up another top-10 last season. Lee-Anne Pace, 2014 winner of the Blue Bay LPGA, returns to the Tour this week in China. Pace teed it up last week on the Ladies European Tour where she took the early lead with back-to-back opening rounds of 66, but with weekend rounds of 72 - 76, she settled for a tie for 27th
Xiyu Lin, Mel Reid, Lizette Salas
10:07 a.m. – 1st Tee
Xiyu Lin returns to action this week in her home country of China where she is making her first start since September’s New Zealand Women’s Open. Lin will look to turn around what has been a difficult season having made the cut in one of her last 10 starts on Tour. She could find a spark this week at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club where she finished tied for fifth last year. She’ll play the opening round alongside Mel Reid, who is also making her first start since New Zealand. She planned to compete in last week’s Ladies European Tour event but was forced to withdraw when an old back injury flared up. The rookie will look to finish the season strong and pick up her first top-10 finish of the year. Lizette Salas is the third and final member of this group. She's found some great momentum late in the season with a top-4 in four of her last five starts. Salas finished tied for 36th at last season’s Blue Bay LPGA.
Nelly Korda, Jessica Korda, Anna Nordqvist
10:18 a.m. – 1st Tee
Sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda are grouped together on day one at the Blue Bay LPGA. Nelly, who has had an impressive rookie season, is coming off her fourth top-10 of the year with a tie for fifth in Malaysia. This is her first appearance at the Blue Bay LPGA. Jessica nearly won this event last season. She came from seven strokes back to start the weekend to hold a share of the 54-hole lead with eventual champion Minjee Lee. Jessica’s final round, 71, earned her a runner-up finish, her best of 2016. Jessica arrives in China off a tie for 62nd at last week’s TOTO Japan Classic. Anna Nordqvist will play round one alongside the sisters. She’s coming off a third place finish last week, thanks to a final round 66 which included an ace at her third hole of the day. Last season, Nordqvist finished tied for 23rd at Blue Bay.
Ariya Jutanugarn, Moriya Jutanugarn, In-Kyung Kim
10:29 a.m. – 1st Tee
Another pair of sister, Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn, is also grouped together on day one. Last year, Ariya nearly won at Blue Bay, where she stood on the 72nd hole with a share of the lead. But the long-hitter, looking to win with an eagle at the par 5, 18th, pulled her tee shot into the water and settled for a third place finish. The former No. 1 ranked player has struggled over the second half of this season since ascending to the top spot in June. She finished 70th last week in Japan. However, her sister Moriya, has continued to trend upward this season and arrives in China off a tie for fifth last week in Japan, her 10th top-10 finish of the year. Moriya continues to put herself in position to capture her first win on Tour with a top-10 finish in four of her last five starts. In-Kyung Kim is the third member of this group and making her first start on Tour since withdrawing from the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship following an opening round, 75. Kim is already a three-time winner this season and earned her first major title in July at the Ricoh Women’s British Open.
Shanshan Feng, Minjee Lee, Sung Hyun Park
10:40 a.m. – 1st Tee
The tour’s most recent winner, Shanshan Feng, successfully defended her title last week at the TOTO Japan Classic. The victory was her second of the season in addition to nine more top-10 finishes. She’ll look to continue that momentum this week in her home country of China where she is making her first start since 2015 when she finished tied for 14th. She will play alongside defending champion Minjee Lee, who will look to pick up her first win of the year this week at Blue Bay. Lee is coming off a tie for fifth last week in Japan where she notched her 10th top-10 of the year. New world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park is the third member of this group and, like Feng, is already a two-time winner this season. Park has already locked up the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award and currently tops the money list. She’s also ranked second in scoring average and the Rolex Player of the Year standings. She’ll have a chance to make up some ground on leaders So Yeon Ryu and Lexi Thompson, who are not in the field this week.